Jalen Reed, Dedan Thomas Jr., Marquel Sutton Headed to SEC Basketball Tipoff '26 With Coach McMahon

BATON ROUGE – Junior forward Jalen Reed along with junior point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., and senior forward Marquel Sutton will join Coach Matt McMahon in representing LSU on Wednesday, October 15 at SEC Basketball Tipoff ’26 at the Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Tigers will also be joined by the LSU women’s basketball team during a two-hour plus window in front of the TV, radio, print and social media of the SEC on the second day of the two-day event. Eight schools will go through the drill on Tuesday, October 14, with the other eight teams on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

This is the first time in the present-day format since the league expanded first to 14 teams, and now 16 teams, that the two squads from both schools will be going through the media day schedule at the same time.

The event will be televised throughout both days on the SEC Network with coaches’ podium appearances in full being streamed on SEC Network+.

Reed is nearing a return to play for the Tigers as he continues to work himself back from ACL surgery last December. Thomas comes to LSU after two strong seasons at UNLV as the team’s point guard, earning All-Mountain West honors both years. Sutton comes to LSU after earning Player of the Year honors in the Summit League at Omaha in 2025, a team he faces in a matchup at the Maravich Assembly Center on Nov. 21.

LSU will have an open to the public practice on Monday, Oct. 13, prior to the Media Day festivities in the Maravich Center beginning at 4 p.m. The first 200 fans will receive free pizza.

Season ticket information for 2025-26 is available at the LSU Athletics Ticket Office and online at LSUTix.net.